Hunting safety strap bracket

ABSTRACT

A triangular tree bracket is vertically strapped to a tree trunk above a tree stand for a hunter with an outer end of the bracket positioned vertically above the hunter in the center of the tree stand. A safety strap attached to the end of the tree bracket hangs vertically downward connecting to the hunter. The hunter is able to turn 360° while attached to the safety strap hanging vertically from the tree bracket. A plate having a horizontal arched array of teeth extends laterally from a top and a bottom end of the bracket and into contact with and piercing the tree trunk. Straps are cinched around the tree trunk hooked to the ends of the plate to secure the bracket to the tree with the teeth piercing the tree trunk.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to tree stands for hunting and inparticular to a bracket attachable to a tree for suspending a safetystrap vertically directly over the head of the hunter standing on thetree stand.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] Hunting from a tree stand poses a unique danger in that thehunter is perched high off the ground on a very small platform which thehunter has just attached to the tree, usually by a strap encircling thetree. During the excitement of trying to get a clean shot at the prey,the hunter may move quickly and pivot and lean over on the smallplatform perch. Or while waiting for the prey to show up, the huntertired from rising too early may fall asleep. Or the tiny platform mightslip and fall out from under the hunter.

[0005] Because of this danger of falling for any number of reasons, asafety strap is usually attached between the hunter and the tree.Usually the strap encircles the tree and then attaches to a belt orharness on the hunter. This arrangement restricts the movement of thehunter to some extent enabling the hunter to pivot only to the sides andfront. Furthermore, if the hunter slips off the tree stand or the treestand collapses, the hunter will swing downwards in an arc and smashagainst the tree.

[0006] A number of prior art patents have addressed the problem ofcreating an effective safety strap for tree stands.

[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,074, issued Aug. 18, 1987 to Green, providesa tree harness which hangs vertically, but it is just looped over a treebranch, which is much more likely to snap than the tree trunk. The Greeninvention also has a seat sling at the end of the strap attached to thebranch. There is no stand provided to stand or sit on. It would be verydifficult for a hunter to shoot with such a device since the hunterwould have to hold on to the strap to maintain balance and not flipupside down.

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,891, issued Jan. 25, 2000 to Sava, shows atree stand harness system which provides pegs on a tree stand encirclingthe tree and the looped belt or strap goes around the pegs rather thancontacting the tree. If the hunter should fall, which is likely withonly a very thin ring to stand on, the belt is supposed to cinch itselftightly around the trunk of the tree. The hunter is likely to fall partway or all the way to the ground before the belt cinches itself aroundthe tree.

[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,773, issued May 26, 1987 to Davis, U.S. Pat.No. 4,236,602, issued Dec. 2, 1980 to Leggett, U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,046,issued Apr. 14, 1998 to Williams, U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,024, issued Oct.23, 2001 to Schweer, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,631, issued Aug. 15, 2000to Ferguson, all claim safety straps for hunting which encircle the treeand do not hang vertically with the inherent problems of restrictedmovement on the stand and smashing into the tree trunk upon falling offthe stand.

[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,019, issued May 10, 1994 to Paul, describes atree stand having a safety strap attached to a bracket extending fromthe tree, but it is actually a safety belt arrangement encircling thewaist of the hunter but not cinched tight and very much restrictingmovement to a seated position.

[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,891, issued Jan. 24, 1978 to McClung,discloses a tree bracket extending from the tree, but it is a top partof a structural support for an enclosed hunting observation stand anddoes not support a vertically hanging safety strap.

[0012] None of the prior art patents provide 360° movement for thehunter and none of them prevent the hunter from slamming into the treeshould the hunter fall from the tree stand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0013] An object of the present invention is to provide a strongtriangulated metal bracket having a top and bottom plate each with a setor arched teeth conforming to the circumference of the trunk at the topand bottom of the bracket to bite into the tree and two spaced apartbelts cinched securely around the tree trunk with a hook at each end ofeach strap hooked into a hole adjacent to the end of the side of theplate, for a secure means to hang a safety strap for a hunter. Uponslipping off the stand the weight of the hunter would be distributedbetween the two straps on the bracket and the bottom teeth of the standwould be driven in further to prevent slipping of the bracket down thetree.

[0014] An additional object of the present invention is to provide thearched teeth of the bracket formed in a thick metal plate welded orotherwise rigidly attached to the triangulated frame of the bracket andextending out on both sides of the bracket confirming to the contour ofthe tree to prevent side to side movement of the bracket.

[0015] Another object of the present invention is to provide a bracketwhich extends outwardly from the tree a sufficient distance to hang asafety strap on a pivot connection vertically above the hunter to enable360° movement for the hunter and causing the hunter to hang straightdown upon slipping off the stand rather than slamming into the trunk ofthe tree.

[0016] One more object of the present invention is to fabricate alightweight bracket for a tree stand safety strap fabricated of aminimal triangulated structure of tubular aluminum, iron or steelmembers so that the bracket is easily transported to the hunting siteand easily carried up the tree for installing the bracket.

[0017] In brief, a triangulated bracket of rigid, but lightweight squaretubular elements has a plate welded to a top and bottom with an archedarray of teeth facing backward to bite into a tree trunk. The bracket isfirmly secured to the tree trunk by two heavy duty straps cinched aroundthe tree trunk and hooked into the plates with the teeth engaging thetrunk.

[0018] An eye bolt is pivotally secured to the outer end of the bracketfor receiving the safety strap clipped onto the eye bolt. The other endof the safety strap is attached to the belt or harness of the hunter.

[0019] An advantage of the present invention is that it provides 360°movement for the hunter

[0020] Another advantage of the present invention is that it holds thehunter upright away from the trunk of the tree upon falling rather thanslamming the hunter into the tree trunk.

[0021] An additional advantage of the present invention is that itprovides a secure safety strap bracket which is lightweight and easy tocarry and install.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] These and other details of my invention will be described inconnection with the accompanying drawings, which are furnished only byway of illustration and not in limitation of the invention, and in whichdrawings:

[0023]FIG. 1 is a perspective view looking up at the invention mountedon the trunk of a tree;

[0024]FIG. 2 is a perspective view looking up at a hunter shooting froma hunting stand, with the hunter strapped to the vertical safety strapof the safety strap bracket showing two extremes of pivotal positioningout of the fill range of 360° of movement.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0025] In FIGS. 1 and 2, the invention comprises a tree bracket devicefor a safety strap 40 used with a tree stand 70 attached to a tree trunk50 by a strap 71 or other means and used by a hunter 60, the treebracket device being mountable on a trunk of a tree above the treestand. The tree bracket device comprises a bracket 20 comprising a rigidstructural frame having a rigid vertical member 26 and a rigidhorizontal member 23 rigidly connected to the vertical member 26.

[0026] The vertical member 26 has a means to engage the tree trunk 50rigidly attached by welding or bolts or other means at a top end and abottom end of the vertical member 26, preferably forked plates 21 havingan arched array of teeth 22 facing away from the vertical member 26toward the tree trunk 50 for piercing the tree trunk 50 to secure thebracket 20 from slipping. Each of the forked plates 21 has a hook hole29 in each side adjacent to the end.

[0027] Each plate 21 is attachable to a tree trunk 50 by a removableattaching means, such as a pair of straps 30 or other flexible tensionmembers capable of encircling the trunk of the tree and engaging thehook holes 29 by means of a hook 33 attached to each end of the strap30. The strap 30 also has a tightening means 31, such as a cinch orratchet mechanism, for tightening the strap 30 around the tree trunk 50with the teeth 22 biting into the tree trunk to help prevent slippingfor a secure safe attachment to the tree trunk.

[0028] The teeth 22 are positioned in an arched concave array conformingto the roughly circular cross-sectional shape of the tree trunk 50 topierce the tree trunk 50 to maintain the vertical member 26 inpenetrating contact with the tree trunk 50 to prevent any slipping ofthe bracket 20.

[0029] As seen in FIG. 2, the bracket 20 can be mounted on the treetrunk 50 above a tree stand 70 where a hunter 60 stands. The horizontalmember 23 extends away from the tree trunk 50 so the outer end of thehorizontal member 23 is positioned vertically above the hunter 60standing on the tree stand 70.

[0030] A safety strap attaching means, such as an eye bolt 25 isattached to the outer end of the horizontal member 23 at a positionvertically above the hunter 60 when the hunter is positioned centrallyon the tree stand 70.

[0031] A safety strap 40 is attached to the eye bolt 25 by a lockinghook 41 and hangs vertically downward to attach to the hunter 60. Thesafety strap 40 and the bracket 20 can support the hunter should thehunter fall with the hunter hanging vertically under the eye bolt andnot slamming into the tree trunk, just as the bottom lock hook 41 on thesafety strap 40 hangs straight down from the eye bolt 25 well away fromthe tree trunk 50, as seen in FIG. 1. The vertical safety strap 40enables the hunter to turn 360° as is shown in FIG. 2 with the hunter 60shown in two extremes of pivotal positioning 60A and 60B out of the fullrange of 360° of movement.

[0032] The bracket further comprises a rigid angled member 24 between adistal end of the horizontal member 23 relative to the tree and thebottom end of the vertical member 26 to create a tree bracket 20triangular in shape for greater strength and rigidity.

[0033] For additional strength and rigidity the tree bracket 20 mayfurther comprise a first interior rigid element 27 rigidly attachedbetween the angled member 24 and the horizontal member 23 and a secondinterior rigid element 28 rigidly attached between the angled member 24and the vertical member 2.

[0034] In FIG. 1 each of the interior rigid elements 27 and 28 iscapable of supporting a safety strap 40A (shown dashed) wrapped aroundthe angled member above each of the interior rigid elements 27 and 28.More eye bolts may be installed at these locations if desired.

[0035] The rigid members 23, 24, and 26 and rigid interior elements 27and 28 are preferably fabricated of square metal tubing (aluminum orsteel) to provide a lightweight but strong structure. The securingstraps 30 and safety strap 40 are preferably fabricated of heavy dutynylon or other type packing straps.

[0036] In use, the hunter 60 climbs up the tree trunk 50 and installsthe tree stand 70 and safety strap bracket 20 and hooks the safety strapto a belt or harness 61 worn by the hunter 60. The hunter can then turn360° and safely watch for and shoot the game. The lightweight treebracket 20 is easy to carry, easy to install and easy to uninstall.

[0037] It is understood that the preceding description is given merelyby way of illustration and not in limitation of the invention and thatvarious modifications may be made thereto without departing from thespirit of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A tree bracket device for a safety strap usedwith a tree stand used by a hunter, the tree bracket device mountable ona trunk of a tree above the tree stand, the tree bracket devicecomprising: a bracket comprising a rigid structural frame having a rigidvertical member and a rigid horizontal member rigidly connected to thevertical member, the vertical member having a laterally extending meansto engage the tree trunk rigidly connected to the vertical member at atop end and a bottom end, and the horizontal member extending away fromthe tree trunk, the bracket being capable of mounting on the tree trunkabove a tree stand for a hunter; a safety strap attaching means attachedto the horizontal member at a position vertically above the hunterpositioned centrally on the tree stand; a safety strap capable of beingattached to the safety strap attaching means and capable of hangingvertically downward to attach to the hunter, the safety strap and thebracket being capable of supporting the hunter and capable of allowingthe hunter to turn 360°; a securing means for binding the verticalmember to the tree trunk at a top end and a bottom end to force themeans to engage the tree trunk against the tree trunk for engagement tomaintain the vertical member in contact with the tree trunk.
 2. The treebracket device of claim 1 wherein the means to engage the tree trunkcomprises a top plate rigidly attached at a top end of the verticalmember and a bottom plate rigidly attached at a bottom end of thevertical member, the pair of rigid plates each having a horizontalarched array of tree gripping elements facing away from the verticalmember toward the tree trunk.
 3. The tree bracket device of claim 2wherein the tree gripping elements comprise a concave arched array ofpointed teeth formed in each of the pair of plates, the teeth capable ofengaging and piercing the tree trunk.
 4. The tree bracket device ofclaim 1 wherein the bracket further comprises a rigid angled memberbetween a distal end of the horizontal member relative to the tree andthe bottom end of the vertical member to create a bracket triangular inshape.
 5. The tree bracket device of claim 4 further comprising a firstinterior rigid element rigidly attached between the angled member andthe horizontal member and a second interior rigid element rigidlyattached between the angled member and the vertical member to strengthenthe bracket.
 6. The tree bracket device of claim 5 wherein each of theinterior rigid element is capable of supporting a safety strap wrappedaround the angled member above each of the interior rigid elements. 7.The tree bracket device of claim 1 wherein the securing means forbinding the vertical member to the tree trunk comprises a pair offlexible strap members each having an attaching means at each end, thestrap members capable of encircling the trunk of the tree with theattaching means attached to the laterally extending means to engage thetree trunk, the securing means being capable of securing the bracket tothe tree trunk with the tree gripping elements engaging the tree trunk.8. The tree bracket device of claim 7 wherein the pair of flexibletension members comprise straps having cinching means to tighten thestraps around the tree trunk and the vertical member.
 9. The treebracket of claim 7 wherein the laterally extending means to engage thetree trunk comprises a plate having an arched array of teeth to engagethe tree trunk, the plate having a hole adjacent to each end and theattaching means at each end of each flexible strap member comprises ahook capable of engaging the hole in the laterally extending means. 10.The tree bracket device of claim 1 wherein the safety strap attachingmeans comprises an eye bolt secured to the distal end of the horizontalmember and the safety strap is provided with a locking hook for engagingthe eye bolt.